Manitoba Organization: Manitoba Teachers’ Federation / Manitoba Teachers’ Society

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Presidents | General Secretaries | Sources

Founded at Winnipeg on 22 April 1919, the aim of the Manitoba Teachers’ Federation was to promote the interests in teachers in rural and urban schools throughout Manitoba. It arose from a meeting held at the Central Normal School in July 1918, organized by Belmont teacher Winfred E. Marsh, and attended by John M. Nason of Deloraine, William J. G. Scott of Roland, Herbert W. Huntley of Winnipeg, and Edgar K. Marshall of Portage la Prairie. In 1942, it was renamed the Manitoba Teachers’ Society.

Presidents

Period

President

1919-1921

Herbert Wellington Huntley (1879-1974)

1921-1922

Edgar Kenny Marshall (c1876-1956)

1922-1924

Charles Walter Laidlaw (1873-1953)

1925-1927

Alexander Charles Campbell (1874-1951)

1927-1928

Wilfred Sadler (1884-1951)

1928-1929

William Abraham Anderson (1890-1947)

1929-1931

Arthur Edward Hearn (1871-1937)

1931-1932

George Florence (1884-1977)

1932-1933

James Crossley (1886-1970)

1933-1934

William Gladstone Oliver (1890-1968)

1934-1935

Gordon Minto Churchill (1898-1985)

1935-1936

Caroline “Carrie” “Parkie” Parkinson (1874-1962)

1936-1937

Wellington Geddes Rathwell (1887-1951)

1937-1938

Herbert Vincent Bell (1898-1971)

1938-1939

Gertrude May Ransom (?-1971)

1939-1940

Alan Stewart Moore (1903-1987)

1940-1941

James Hugh Cameron (1890-1981)

1941-1942

John Elwood Ridd (1896-1986)

1942-1943

Eleanor Boyce (1898-1997)

1943-1944

Ernest Ross Floyd Willoughby (c1889-1956)

1944-1945

Robert Cecil Paris (1885-1964)

1945-1946

Mary Hamilton (1893-1985)

1946-1947

Frederick Drury Baragar (1891-1964)

1947-1948

Hilda Kinney Ellis (1905-1987)

1948-1949

Gabriel Richard Rowe (1897-1968)

1949-1950

Elmenia Jean Mollard (1901-1991)

1950-1951

Harold Edwin Richard Murphy (1894-1975)

1951-1952

Myrtle Rietta Conway (1908-2005)

1952-1953

Duncan Hector Stewart (1912-1999)

1953-1954

Edith Miller (?-?)

1954-1955

John Adrian Ashley (1902-1987)

1955-1956

Agnes MacDonald (1908-1999)

1956-1957

Winnifred E. Stevenson (?-1993)

1957-1958

Carl Stirrat Gow (1900-1977)

1958-1959

Albert Edward “Ted” Scrase (1901-1984)

1959-1960

Ross Laverne Donald (1907-1992)

1960-1961

Sybil Francis Shack (1911-2004)

1961-1962

Nicholas Toews

1962-1963

Robert John Cochrane (1900-1978)

1963-1964

John Kastrukoff (1920-2009)

1964-1965

Elizabeth F. Redmond

1965-1966

Albert W. Davie

1966-1967

Donald Taylor McKinnon (1926-2012)

1967-1968

Aubrey A. Asper

1968-1969

John Enns

1969-1970

Edward Kowalchuk (1926-2003)

1970

Sister Pearl Gervais

1970-1971

Edward Kowalchuk (1926-2003)

1971-1972

Walter Nowosad (1918-2003)

1972-1973

George H. Enns (1920-2010)

1973-1974

Harvey C. Kingdon

1974-1975

Phyllis I. Moore

1975-1976

Leo Duguay

1976-1977

Leonard Arthur “Art” Reimer (1941-2023)

1977-1978

Ralf Kyritz

1978-1979

Al Valentine

1979-1980

Marilyn Thompson

1980-1981

John Wiens

1981-1982

Dorothy Young

1982-1983

Rex Virtue

1983-1984

Dr. Linda Asper

1984-1985

Murray Smith

1985-1986

Vaughn Wadelius

1986-1987

Cordell Barker

1987-1988

Valerie Wake

1988-1989

Judy Balabas

1989-1990

Betty Husby

1990-1991

Sandy Millen

1991-1992

Judy Bradley

1992-1993

Terence “Terry” Clifford (1936-2021)

1993-1994

Dr. David Turner

1994-1995

Ron Banister

1995-1996

Linda York

1996-1997

Ken Pearce

1997-1998

Diane Beresford

1998-1999

Ian MacIntyre

1999-2003

Jan Speelman

2003-2007

Brian Ardern

2007-2011

Pat Isaak

2011-2015

Paul Olsen

2015-2019

Norm Gould

General Secretaries

Period

General Secretary

1922-1945

Edgar Kenny Marshall (c1876-1956)

1946-1956

Thomas Agnew McMaster (1898-1956)

1956-1975

Emerson Lloyd Arnett (1911-1975)

1975-1981

William Robert “Bob” Gordon (1921-2001)

1982-1990

Walter Pindera

1990-1993

Aubrey A. Asper

1993-1996

Jean Gisiger

1997-2004

Leonard Arthur “Art” Reimer (1941-2023)

2005-2008

Judy Bradley

2009-2015

Ken Pearce

See also:

Manitoba Organization: Manitoba Educational Association

Manitoba Organization: Manitoba School Boards Association

Chalk, Sweat, and Cheers: A history of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society Commemorating its Fiftieth Anniversary, 1919-1969 by J. W. Chafe, Winnipeg: Manitoba Teachers’ Society, 1969.

Sources:

“Oliver is named as new president of teachers’ body,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 April 1933, page 3.

The History of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society by Haraldur Victor Vidal, MA thesis, University of Manitoba, 1958.

“Manitobans at Teacher Conference,” Winnipeg Free Press, 2 August 1967, page 24.

“Teacher resignations down: report,” Winnipeg Free Press, 14 August 1968, page 46.

“Sister Pearl Gervais,” Winnipeg Free Press, 3 April 1970, page 3.

“Edward Kowalchuck,” Winnipeg Free Press, 21 September 1970, page 44.

We thank James Arnett, Nathan Kramer, and Mireille Theriault for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 18 March 2023